All posts by harkey12

Jazzercise Fail – Candy Corn Win

Daily Life!, Jazzercise, Workouts, , ,

Welp, it was one of those mornings that any aerobic or workout instructor has probably dealt with on many occasions. And it’s not fun.

I awoke bright and early at 5 AM in a great mood. I was excited to teach Jazzercise! Monday mornings aren’t what most people call ‘fun’. So I try to keep myself extra positive and optimistic during my Monday AM classes for the sake of my sleepy students. Well today, I had none. Yup, not one single student showed up for my 5:40 AM class. Sad day! I’ve had this happen before, but it really cuts deep when it happens at 5 AM. But since I was already awake and in my exercise attire, I headed off to my gym where I could still squeeze in about 35-40 minutes of cardio before heading home to shower. I didn’t want my early morning to be a complete waste!

Workout

I’ll admit, I was a bit a of a grumpy gus when I got to the gym. So I didn’t start with anything too vigorous. I began walking on the treadmill and ended up doing a quick 10 minute incline walking interval. It got my heart rate up!

10 minute incline walking interval

  • Minutes 0-1, Incline 4, Speed  4.0
  • Minutes 1-2, Incline 5, Speed  4.3
  • Minutes 2-3, Incline 6, Speed  4.3
  • Minutes 3-4, Incline 8, Speed  4.3
  • Minutes 4-5, Incline 10, Speed  4.3
  • Minutes 5-6, Incline 12, Speed  4.0
  • Minutes 6-7, Incline 10, Speed  4.0
  • Minutes 7-8, Incline 9, Speed  4.0
  • Minutes 8-10, Incline 7, Speed  4.0

Once I hit the incline of 12, I had to slow it back down to 4.0. I thought my tiny legs were going to come out from underneath of me!

After this 10 minute interval, I jumped on the Elliptical where I finished out my morning workout. Nothing too fancy – just some steady-state cardio to make me feel a little productive. All in all, not a great workout, not a terrible workout. But I think any workout is a win, right?

Breakfast

I hurried home and showered before I had to rush off to work to start another week. I had a little extra time to make food but just wasn’t feelin’ it. So I did my typical grab-n-go breakfast before heading to work a little early.photo(45)The best part was the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Luna bar. I’ve had my fair share of healthy protein bars claiming to taste like cookie dough, but this one takes the cake! haha pun intended. I was super delicious and has 12g of protein to keep me full.

photo(46)I loved every last bite! And speaking of LOVING things, the Candy Corn coffee I bought yesterday at Target was a complete win!

photo(46)And it couldn’t have come at a better time when I was grumpy this morning after having a weirdo workout. It smelled like a butterscotchy-creamy heaven in my kitchen! I added a little of my Pumpkin Pie creamer, and it was a pure cup of goodness to start my day. Candy corn win! It’s the little things that can put a little bit of positivity back into our day 🙂

Hope you’re having a great Monday! I’m looking ahead to lunch with a hungry tummy. Leftover chili? It’s probably the best choice!

Successful Sunday

Daily Life!, Food for Thought, , , ,

It’s been another successful Sunday here at the Harkey Household! Hope it’s been a good one for you, and you got in some last minute relaxation before the workweek starts again 🙂

Long Run

This morning I popped out of bed and was in the mood to run! I felt like I could run a half-marathon. But since my longest runs so far are only 3.5 miles, I decided to shoot for 4 miles instead. I set out with a positive attitude and got the 4 miles done in 35 minutes! The last mile was painful, and I wanted to give up. Luckily, I didn’t let my negative thoughts win. It felt amazing to get home before 8 AM and feel so accomplished!

I quickly grabbed some coffee and cereal and sat down to stretch while I read through my Sunday paper, aka the Ads and COUPONS!

photo(49)This is a permanent ritual on Sunday mornings for me. I had lots of new coupons today which put me instantly in the mood to shop. Plus, there was delicious Pumpkin Spice creamer in that coffee. The cozy smell of pumpkin pie can make anyone a little happier. 🙂 So I knew I’d have a great day today. I quickly changed into some clean workout clothes and headed off to teach Jazzercise.

Target Finds

Earlier this week, I talked about wanting to find some delicious pumpkin flavored coffee, so I had already planned a trip to Target for this afternoon. My girlfriend posted pictures of her pumpkin-flavored finds from Target a few days ago, so I knew the trip would pay off. I took quite the haul…

photo(47)I was so excited to find pumpkin-flavored everything in the grocery section! Plus, the cute Dunkin Donuts mug was FREE when I purchased 2 bags of their pumpkin coffee. Wins all around! Although, I think I’m most excited to try this coffee tomorrow morning:

photo(46)I love me some candy corn during Halloween time, so I was thrilled to grab this up to try! I’ll report back tomorrow. I have no idea what this will taste like, but I bet I wake up to a wonderful smelling house at least.

Mac’s favorite find at Target today? Some new chicken flavored bones… (Ignore my long witch nails – I just finished trimming and painting them this evening!)

photo(48)Check out that happy wagging tail in action. He has already ‘buried’ this bone around the house in about 10 different locations. Happy boy!

Dinner

Dinner tonight looked difficult but was super easy thanks to a dry soup mix I bought today. I was cravin’ chili!

photo(45)I grabbed up this Bear Creek “Darn Good” Chili mix and knew I would spice it up with some ground turkey I had thawing for our meal tonight. The chili immediately smelled amazing when I mixed it into the boiling water.

Cookin' chili!
Cookin’ chili!

I had to let it simmer for 25 minutes. Then I mixed in the browned ground turkey and let it simmer together about 10 more minutes. It was amazing! And had the slightest hint of cinnamon. Oddly delicious!

photo(43) photo(42)Yummm! And after dinner, we were in slight chili comas, so I leashed up Mac for a quick walk before it got any darker.

photo(50)So, all in all, it was a fun and successful Sunday! I feel refreshed and ready for the workweek. Tomorrow kicks off bright and early at 5:40 AM with a Jazzercise class before work. Monday morning workouts definitely start the week off on the right foot. I love it!

Have a great night and get some good rest!

Celebrating 2 Years

Daily Life!, Food for Thought

This past week marked Nick and I’s 2 year dating anniversary. He had a crazy busy week, and I was my normal busy with Jazzercise and work, so we decided to go out to dinner tonight for a mini-celebration. We have a normal ‘fancier dinner’ place that we go to called Santa Fe Grille. It’s upscale Mexican food, and it’s delicious!

As we pulled into the parking lot, the sign had changed to Springfield Gourmet Taco Company. (I vaguely remember seeing this announcement in the weekly newspaper, but it obviously didn’t stick with me!) Anyways, we were slightly leery, but it looked basically the same as we walked in. The menu had been revamped to include about 50 different tacos from which you could choose. Then you chose how to wrap your taco, hard shell, soft shell, lettuce wrap…the list was very big! Nick went with a steak variety of some sort in a corn tortilla, and I chose the Hawaiian Chicken in a lettuce wrap.

When our food arrived, we were a little thrown off. It was only 1 taco each! We had no idea we needed to order several to make a complete dinner.

photo(40)Luckily, they were AMAZING! Mine was covered in grilled pineapple, cabbage, and a sweet chili sauce. So we immediately waved over the waiter to order 1 more taco each. It ended up being a great meal + a learning experience for the next time we visit the new Gourmet Taco Company!

1234839_10151793048272182_969853993_nLunch + Sam’s Club

Lunch today was pretty light as I was wanting to get in a quick trip to Sam’s before it got any later in the day. Jazzercise kept me busy til around noon, and it made me hungry! So I knew I needed to eat a bite before I got around all the gigantic groceries or else my gigantic appetite would take over. I quickly topped a whole wheat Bagelthin with some cottage cheese and inhaled it before hopping in my car.

Carbs + savory cottage cheese!
Carbs + savory cottage cheese!

My favorite finds at Sam’s today?

photo(38)Pumpkin Pie Coffee Creamer! No less, in a convenient 2-pack! I usually go for the sugar free creamers, but this particular brand only has 20 more calories than the sugar-free. Plus it just looked amazing in the store. So I had to go for it! It doesn’t expire until January, so I can take my time with it. Yes, it’s not the healthiest. But it doesn’t include any real dairy products so it’s a win for this lactose-intolerant lady! I can’t wait for tomorrow morning!

Second favorite find…

photo(41)Cute right?! Fall Owl oven mitt and matching dish towel. These are already displayed in my kitchen. They are way too cute to sit in the drawer!! Our house is feeling very festive this evening  🙂

Well, we’re off to walk Mac and hopefully help our full tummies digest a little more. Have a great Saturday night! I’ll see you all tomorrow after my morning Jazzercise class. Sweet dreams!